NVIDIA reverses course on Lynnfield-compatible chipset

As the rumors have been swirling since the end of NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference that NVIDIA was exiting the chipset business, NVIDIA has issued a statement designed to clarify the wide range of rumors out there:

We've received a number of inquiries recently about NVIDIA's chipset (MCP) business. We'd like to set the record straight on current and future NVIDIA chipset activity.
On Intel platforms, the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M/ION brands have enjoyed significant sales, as well as critical success. Customers including Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, ASUS and others are continuing to incorporate GeForce 9400M and ION products in their current designs. There are many customers that have plans to use ION or GeForce 9400M chipsets for upcoming designs, as well.
On AMD platforms, we continue to sell a higher quantity of chipsets than AMD itself. MCP61-based platforms continue to be extremely well positioned in the entry CPU segments where AMD CPUs are most competitive vs. Intel
We will continue to innovate integrated solutions for Intel’s FSB architecture. We firmly believe that this market has a long healthy life ahead. But because of Intel’s improper claims to customers and the market that we aren’t licensed to the new DMI bus and its unfair business tactics, it is effectively impossible for us to market chipsets for future CPUs. So, until we resolve this matter in court next year, we’ll postpone further chipset investments for Intel DMI CPUs.
Despite Intel's actions, we have innovative products that we are excited to introduce to the market in the months ahead. We know these products will bring with them some amazing breakthroughs that will surprise the industry, just as GeForce 9400M and ION have shaken up the industry this year.
We expect our MCP business for both Intel and AMD to be strong well into the future.

So NVIDIA plans to continue to provide entry-level chipsets for the AMD platform, which makes sense considering AMD's CPU lineup shuffle in light of Lynnfield's arrival. On the Intel side, you'll also see NVIDIA continue to provide ION and GeForce 9400 chipsets for their OEM partners.

As far as providing a Lynnfield-compatible chipset, NVIDIA has completely reversed course and apparently won't be making a chipset of their own to rival Intel's 5-series platform. I asked them about this specifically just this August and they said they were full speed ahead on bringing products to market for 2010. I honestly thought this is one area where Intel and NVIDIA could've worked together to provide an interesting IGP alternative to AMD's next-gen 8-series IGPs, but now it appears that won't happen. Instead Intel's going to have to rely on Clarkdale's integrated graphics core, which is largely based on today's Intel integrated offerings. As a result, I have a feeling AMD could end up offering a better overall platform for the entry-level segment than Intel. The question is, will that ultimately be enough to help AMD gain share. Users who purchase entry-level systems typically don't care as much about system performance. Instead they're more interested in updating their page on Facebook, browsing the web, and checking email.

UPDATE:When we asked NVIDIA about their plans for providing SLI support for AMD platforms and potentially licensing SLI to AMD and motherboard manufacturers for use on 790GX and 790FX, NVIDIA spokesman Ken Brown responded as follows: "We will continue to sell nForce 750a SLI, 780a SLI, and 980a SLI motherboards to serve gamers looking to build high end AMD-based PCs. At this time we have no plans to license SLI to other vendors in this segment."

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